Issuer officials who said Treasury's final issue price rules are a vast improvement over earlier proposals nevertheless raised concern that they might discourage competitive sales of bonds or create problems for issuers if underwriters run afoul of the rules.

Tobacco settlement deals' link to industry always a hot topic

The tobacco bond market took a series of hits last week, marked by a multi-notch industry downgrade from Fitch Ratings, which, on the corporate side, took R.J. Reynolds below investment grade. On the ABS front, Fitch further downgraded the entire sector, affecting approximately $18 billion in bonds.

Currently, Fitch's...

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